Old Royal Capital Cetinje

The Old Royal Capital Cetinje (Montenegrin: Prijestonica Cetinje / Пријестоница Цетиње) is one of the municipalities of Montenegro. Due to its former status as the capital of the old Kingdom of Montenegro, it is known as the "Old Royal Capital" (Prijestonica / Пријестоница), which is also translated in English as "Royal Town".^[1] Its center is the town of Cetinje and its territory, which covers an area of 910 km², is bordered by the Lovćen and Lake Skadar national parks. In 2023, the municipality of Cetinje had a population of 14,494.

Old Royal Capital Cetinje Prijestonica Cetinje Пријестоница Цетиње
Municipality
Coat of arms
Old Royal Capital Cetinje area in Montenegro
Country	Montenegro
Seat	Cetinje
Area
• Total	910 km2 (350 sq mi)
Population  (2023)
• Total	14,494
• Density	16/km2 (41/sq mi)
Postal code	81250
Area code	+382 41
ISO 3166-2 code	ME-06
Car plates	CT
Climate	Cfb
Website	www.cetinje.me

Geography

The Old Royal Capital of Cetinje is one of Montenegro's largest municipalities. Its territory covers 910 km², which represents 6.6% of the total area of the country. The town of Cetinje proper covers 6 km² of this area.^[2]

The territory of the municipality of Cetinje is divided into two parts: the shores of Lake Skadar and its surrounding area, and a hilly, mountainous and karst zone. Both parts correspond to one of the historical regions of Old Montenegro, respectively the nahija of Rijeka and the nahija of Katun. Two national parks fall within the municipality's borders, Lovćen and Lake Skadar.^[2]

Subdivisions

The municipality of Cetinje is subdivided into 25 local communities (Montenegrin: mjesne zajednice, singular: mjesna zajednica), bodies in which the citizens participate in decision-making about matters of relevance to the community in which they live.^[3]

Three of these local communities are located in urban areas, while twenty-two are located in rural areas.^[3]

Urban Local Communities

These are subdivisions of the municipality located within the town of Cetinje.

• Stari Grad ("Old Town")
• Nova Varoš ("New Town")
• Gruda - Donje polje

Rural Local Communities

These are subdivisions of the municipality located in rural areas outside the town of Cetinje.

• Bajice
• Bata
• Bokovo
• Gornji Ceklin
• Dobrska Župa
• Dobrsko Selo
• Dodoši
• Drušići
• Konak
• Kosijeri
• Ljubotinjsko-građanska
• Meterizi
• Njeguši
• Rvaši
• Rijeka Crnojevića (city settlement)
• Trešnjevo
• Ćeklići
• Ubli
• Čevo
• Štitari
• Žabljak Crnojevića
• Velestovo, Cetinje

Municipal Parliament (2021–2025)

Skupština Prijestonice Cetinje is the Parliament of Old Royal Capital Cetinje. Local parliament is made up of 33 deputies, or odbornici (councillors) in Montenegrin. It is elected by universal ballot and is presided over by a speaker called the Predsjednik Skupštine (President of Parliament).

The composition of the parliament as of 2021 is as follows:

Party / Coalition		Seats	Local government
	DPS	10 / 33	Opposition
	SDP	8 / 33	Government
	URA	4 / 33	Support
	ZEP	4 / 33	Opposition
	DCG	3 / 33	Support
	SGLSCG	3 / 33	Government
	SD	1 / 33	Opposition

Demographics

According to the 2023 census, the municipality of Cetinje had a population of 14,494,^[4] with the following ethnic and religious composition:

Old Royal Capital of Cetinje (2023) Montenegrins   91.07% Serbs   4.82% Others   2.88% Undeclared   1.23% Old Royal Capital of Cetinje (2023) Eastern Orthodox   91.83% Roman Catholic   0.94% Islam   0.77% Atheist   3.42% Others   1.50% Undeclared   1.54%

Historical population Year Pop. ±% 1948 25,114 —     1953 25,549 +1.7% 1961 23,503 −8.0% 1971 22,024 −6.3% 1981 20,213 −8.2% 1991 20,307 +0.5% 2003 18,482 −9.0% 2011 16,757 −9.3% 2023 14,494 −13.5%

Gallery

• 
  Town of Cetinje
• 
  Lovćen National Park
• 
  Skadar Lake
• 
  Rijeka Crnojevića
• 
  Eastern Orthodox monastery of Cetinje
• 
  Njegoš's Testament church
• 
  Mausoleum of Njegoš
• 
  Street in Cetinje, 2015.
• 
  Convent, Cetinje in 1889.